#VitalFactz: Happy Birthday: Dr. Dre

Happy Birthday Dr. Dre. Born Andre Romelle Young February 18, 1965. Young started off as a member of The World Class Wreckin' Cru which such hits as Turn Off The Lights. In 1986 he joined Eazy E's label Ruthless Records & helped to form the Gangster Rap group N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). As the lead producer behind the boards, N.W.A. released 2 landmark albums, Straight Outta Compton (which was Certified Triple Platinum) & 1991's Niggaz4Life (Certified Double Platinum & peaked at #1 on Billboards Hot 200 Albums Chart). Later in '91 due to financial issues with Ruthless, Dre left the label & co-founded Death Row Records along with Suge Knight, The D.O.C. & others. His first release was the single Deep Cover.With the release of his self-produced debut album The Chronic (Certified Triple Platinum) Featuring Nuthin' But A "G" Thang, Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin') & Let Me Ride, plus his production behind Snopp Dogg's debut album Doggystyle (Certified Quadruple Platinum), he helped propel Death Row to become one of the most dominant Hip Hop labels of the 90's. Unfortunately, due to issues with Suge Knight, Dre left Death Row in 1996 & started his own label Aftermath Entertainment. Later that year he released the compilation album Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath. This album reached Platinum status despite being considered a disappointment. It wasn't until 1999 when he released his sophomore album 2001 that he re-established himself as one of the greatest Hip Hop producers in the game. This album reached 6x Platinum status off the strength of singles such as Still D.R.E. & Forgot About Dre. Since then he has turned Aftermath into an empire, having already signed Eminem, then 50 Cent & most recently, Kendrick Lamar, who has 12 Grammy's (5 of which he won this year alone). Dre is currently one of the top 3 richest Hip Hop musicians in the industry.